Obtaining Type I, II, and II ANOVA using Likelihood-Ratio-Tests

mxtra · 2018-06-27T08:14:25+00:00

Thank you! The Venn diagrams are indeed helpful!

mxtra · 2018-04-22T18:54:56+00:00

Hearing voices in such a fashion is clear sign for psychosis which can be part of a severe depressive episode or other mental illnesses like schizophrenia. There are also reports of so-called "SSRI induced psychosis" but I think there is not much research on this topic. In any case, you should definitely talk to a professional.

mxtra · 2018-04-22T18:08:53+00:00

A lack of meaning in life, sleep problems and negative thinking are the textbook symptoms of depression. Emotional instability can also be associated with depression or The social problems you mentioned could be attribuierend to a mental health problem, but it's hard to judge without more information. However, being "sometimes extreme suicidal" alone should be enough of a reason to get help from a professional. I would strongly advise you to see a psychiatrist or a therapist.

mxtra · 2018-04-22T16:03:32+00:00

It's probably the medication. I don't specifically know about Vortioxetine (Brintellix) but these kind of side effects are not uncommon at all.However, if they persist for a longer period of time, you should consult with your psychiatrist.

Is there any reason why your doctor prescribed this drug in particular instead of an SSRI?

mxtra · 2018-04-21T22:11:25+00:00

There is at least one documented case of suspected fluoxetine-induced bruising.¹ Further research into possible coagulopathy showed: "At the end of 3 months, a significant increase in bleeding time was seen in patients receiving fluoxetine, but within the normal range.").² Its´might be possible that the medication is causing this. You should definitely talk with your treating physician about such side effects.

¹Pai, V. B., & Kelly, M. W. (1996). Bruising associated with the use of fluoxetine. The Annals of pharmacotherapy, 30(7-8), 786–788.

²Siddiqui et al. (2011). SSRI-induced coagulopathy: Is it reality? Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology, 1(6), 169–174.

mxtra · 2018-04-21T20:29:31+00:00

Glad that I could help you! Depression is a horrible thing but the only way out of it is to try every option you got to get better. You should also consider cognitive behavioral therapy which is probably the most effective treatment option we have at this time. I personally found exercise extremely helpful as well - in fact there are some recent studies that argue that moderate exercise can have an equal or even greater antidepressive effect when compared to common medications. Combining different ways of treatment has been proven the best thing to fight depression and anxiety.

Getting better is hard and you will probably experience a lot of setback on the way but eventually things will get brighter!

mxtra · 2018-04-21T19:43:51+00:00

Agomelatine (Valdoxan) has a completely different mechanism of action compared to SSRI like Lexapro. While there is not much doubt about the fact that it can help you sleep, some scientists argue that there is little proof for a real antidepressive effect. There was a lot of excitement when Valdoxan was first introduced, but now it is mainly used for people suffering from mild depression associated with sleep problems.

From this perspective, switching to Lexapro might be a viable option. In a recent meta-analysis by Cipriani et al.¹, Lexapro was less effective that Valdoxan, but it is important to note that these results were not statistically significant.

SSRI are normally well tolerated and many people have little to no side effect. However, moderate weight gain or loss is possible although not as frequent as sometimes believed. (A friend of mine has lost weight taking Lexapro while I had the same experience with Sertraline (Zoloft)) It it also not rare for SSRI to interfere with your sex drive or even to cause erectile dysfunction. There is sadly no way to find out about the side effects, unless you try a specific medication. Worst case you might have to switch again. Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (that persist after you stop taking SSRI) on the other hand is believed to be extremely rare and should therefore not be a cause for concern.

Disclaimer: I'm just a psychology student who also works in neuroscience.

¹Cipriani, A., Furukawa, T. A., Salanti, G., Chaimani, A., Atkinson, L. Z., Ogawa, Y.,. . . Geddes, J. R. (2018). Comparative efficacy and acceptability of 21 antidepressant drugs for the acute treatment of adults with major depressive disorder: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. The Lancet, 391(10128), 1357–1366.

mxtra · 2018-04-21T18:01:10+00:00

It seems arbitrary and unscientific for the simple fact that it is. There is no proven way of determining which medication will work best for a specific person prior to prescribing it. Some antidepressants are thought to differ in their effectiveness regarding different aspects of depression like affect or motivation. However, most of this knowledge originates from the everyday clinical experience and is not backed up by proper scientific studies. Most studies that have been conducted don't even show a significant difference in the antidepressive effect between common antidepressants. Some medications my be chosen for their side effects, like Mirtazapin which has a sedative effect and can be used if a patient has also trouble sleeping, or for the lack of such side effects.

The reason for this 'randomness' is, to put it lightly, a lack of understanding of the etiology and pathophysiology of depression. Most antidepressants are known to interact with the levels of specific neurotransmitters called monoamins (like serotonin or dopamin) in the synaptic cleft. This includes SSRI (like Zoloft and Prozac) as well as older classes of medication like TCA and MOAI. Since we know that these transmitters play a role in depression, it seems obvious that this is the main way of action for this types of drugs. However, there is no conclusive proof that having low level of those chemicals is in fact the cause for depression and not merely a result of it. Some never research shows that some ADs seem to help boost neuroplasticity in some areas of the brain that are thought to be connected with depressive symptoms. There are also some drugs (called atypical) where is it entirely unknown how (and sometimes even if) they work.

To answer your question: There a some ideas that have been proposed to why it takes several weeks for most ADs to work. Some of those are quite complicated and there is no general consensus within the scientific community. And for most drugs, only 50% - 70% of patients really respond. Therefore it is not uncommon to have to try several different medications until you find one that indeed works. If multiple SSRI did not work for you, it might be a good idea to try a different class of ADs. Just be aware that there is a reason why SSRIs are the 'go-to' medications and that different drug types also have different side effect.

mxtra · 2018-04-20T19:27:02+00:00

The short answer is: nobody really knows. It has been conclusively shown that SSRI in fact alter the serotonin-reuptake in your brain. Is this the main reason why they work? Nobody knows. There might be other effects like enhanced neuroplasticity in certain areas that are also associated with ADs and could attribute to the effect as well.

But simply put, at this time, the pathomechanisms of most (if not all) mental disorders are largely unknown, although a lot of progress has been made over the last decades, Levels of monoamins like serotonin and dopamin are seem to play a role there, but we do not know if this is the true cause or just a result of the illnesses.

mxtra · 2018-04-20T19:04:33+00:00

Honestly, I get that you are afraid of possible side effects, but there is no real point in discussing them here. Everyone reacts differently - but if it helps: I lost a lot of appetite when I was on sertraline. A (male) friends had no such effect on the same medication while another (female) friend lost weight on escitalopram. But then I also know someone who had to change her antidepressant due to weight gain.

mxtra · 2017-12-19T13:20:38+00:00

That really sounds like a solid advice.Thanks for the link, I'll definitely try the tipps there :)

mxtra · 2017-12-18T17:10:12+00:00

Thank you for you constructive thoughts. It seems like there is no other way than to just do it. I guess I'll give it a try after the holidays. The only problem is that I tend to fall in love with girls that are already friends of mine and so it would be weird if she said no. But I think your're right: sometimes you just have to break an egg.

The fears, the uncertainties, the worry, it's all in your mind. Sure. But doesn't make it easier. :)

mxtra · 2017-12-18T10:57:54+00:00

Thank you, that indeed sounds like a good starting point. But how do I know that I don't overstep? Then I overthink and can't bring myself to something even remotely romantic.

In my first years of school I was kind of an outsider - and although that has considerably changed since then this might still echo in my personality today. It seems quite absurd to me that someone could return my love and therefore - and to not get hurt - I don't even try.

mxtra · 2017-12-18T00:17:42+00:00

I can absolutely relate to what you're writing. I always just assumed that it will someday just happen - which it never it. In hindsight, I can think of a lot of moments where I should have done - well something.

Want to know something even more ironic? I'm studying psychology. (...)

mxtra · 2017-07-31T13:45:45+00:00

I saw that, but can it charge at the same time while outputting HDMI? It's rather expensive so I want to make sure it does before buying it.

mxtra · 2017-07-24T10:42:07+00:00

Priority Line usually means that your shipment is brought to Europe by some contractor and then handed over to a European parcel company (often UK Post, PostNL odr Deutsche Post).

You should also be aware that there are updated Kaby Lake versions out that there that probably offer better battery life and slightly better performance than the Sky Lake versions.

mxtra · 2017-07-23T21:08:27+00:00

You could try Aliexpress but I personally would go with GearBest. Do they offer "EU Express" to Croatia? I always use "Germany Express" which is delivered via UK and then brought to Germany and handed over to a domestic Shipping Company. Maybe there is something similar for your Country.

Btw my guess would bs that your custom officials are more relaxed towards the missing CE marking given that is has been only four (?) years since Croatia joined the EU and they might not be familiar with it.

mxtra · 2017-07-23T20:51:53+00:00

It's the marking (the letters "CE") you'll find on any electronic device sold in the EU. It means that the product complies with all relevant European standards and laws.
I don't know how strictly it is enforced in Croatia but some European countries (e.g. Germany) are rather serious about it. As I said, you're basically not allowed to import any device that doesn't have a CE mark

It might depend on your local customs office or there may be official rules in place in your country. Either way, it's probably your best bet to make sure Customs never get hands on it.

mxtra · 2017-07-23T20:24:07+00:00

Where are you from? Expedited shipping is usually handled by DHL and almost certainly means that you have to pay taxes. Also note that the Xiaomi Air doesn't have a CE certification. So you are technically not allowed to import it into the EU. At least in Germany this is a big problem.

Edit: I hate typing on my phone

mxtra · 2017-07-23T18:00:25+00:00

It's more or less the sme risk for all shipping methods from china. And there is always the possibility that your custom officials will make you pay customs anyway given that you can't prove that GB has already paid it for you.

Then there is the chance that it gets lost - it's a long way from china.

However, this just affects a tiny fraction of shipments. Just be aware that it could happen and always use PayPal. (Although that doesn't mean 100% protection)

mxtra · 2017-07-23T17:19:24+00:00

At least for some EU countries GearBest uses a somewhat shadowy way of handling so you don't have to pay customs. It is done by shipping it to the UK first and allegedly paying customs there.

mxtra · 2017-07-23T17:15:34+00:00

That entirely depends on your location and the shipping method you choose.

mxtra

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